Lincoln (Neb.) - Sept. 25, 1997 - "Vibrant Colors and Intricate Patterns, 1996-97 Gifts to the Lentz Center for Asian Culture," is the title of the center's annual donations exhibition running through Jan. 25, 1998, at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Barbara Banks, director and curator of the Lentz Center, said the title was chosen because the 1996-97 gifts share a common vibrancy and attention to detail, qualities that are consistent even though the items are in different media and hail from China, Japan, Indonesia and New Guinea.
Leather, wood, glass, ceramic, ivory, lacquer and cloth are all means by which these skills are shown in the exhibition, with the colors especially vibrant on the ceramics, glass and costumes. The gifts vary in size from one inch to life size.
The gifts include a 19th century glass ginger jar from the Hilmes and Gadient collections in Kansas City, given in memory of Philip Hilmes. The jar is white with red overlay glass carved in delicate floral patterns. Later Chinese ceramics are known for their wide color range and combinations. Two large vases in brilliant colors are among gifts from a 1996 Nebraska alumnus, John Fosdick and his wife, Marguerita Fiorentino Fosdick, of New York. A tall hexagonally shaped vase with scenes and depictions of Chinese favorite items is a "famille verte" type and gourd- shaped, variously patterned vase is an example of "famille noire."
Elaborately carved leather puppets of the characters Ardjuna and Begasuksma in the Wayang shadow puppet theatre in Bali, a gift from Carolyn and Ephraim Goodman, will greet visitors as they enter the show. Other gifts from Harold Reich, the late Cecil Blunn, Marian Leatherman and the Fosdicks include several netsuke (ornamental pieces used to attach an item to obi, or sash, of a Japanese man's traditional dress during the Tokugawa period, 1603-1868), a portable shrine called a zushi, Chinese and Japanese ceramics, a late Qing Dynasty woman's costume and mask from the Blackwater Tribe of New Guinea.
The Lentz Center, 329 Morrill Hall on UNL's City Campus, is
open from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1:30-4 p.m.
Sunday. There is no admission charge, but a $2 donation is
suggested for Morrill Hall visitors over the age of 2.
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